BIG EAST Conference

Seven-win streak: SMU women’s basketball finished with a win at Thursday’s home game, scoring 6 points in the last 1:11 of the game. Securing a win on Thursday versus Houston has put the Mustangs in the lead in Conference USA with a 6-0 record and 15-4 overall for this season. Last week, junior Keena Mays was named Conference USA Player of the Week for the second time this season. College Sports Madness also named Mays its C-USA player of the week for Jan. 28, 2013. The women play UTEP this Sunday, Feb. 3, in El Paso. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Back with a win: SMU men’s basketball ended their trio of away games with a win on Wednesday, Jan. 30, defeating Marshall 68-57. This is the first win against Marshall in SMU history and puts the men at 2-5 for Conference USA games and 12-10 overall this season. The Mustangs return home this Saturday, Feb. 2, to take on Houston at 2 p.m.Tickets are still available.

Swimming in ATX: SMU men’s and women’s swimming and diving will travel to Austin this weekend for a two-day meet. The Mustangs are competing against the University of Texas and the University of Arizona on Feb. 1-2. The men were defeated in their last meet against Texas A&M, and the women are coming off a home meet win against TCU. Eddie Sinnott, SMU men’s swim coach, was selected to receive SMU’s Outstanding Leadership Award last week, given to an employee who “demonstrates exceptional leadership ability within his or her unit or across the University.” Sinnott will be recognized at the University’s 2013 Staff Association Assembly and Recognition Ceremony at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Big East: The teams SMU will face during their first year in the BIG EAST Conference were finalized last month. In case you missed them, the Mustangs will take on the University of Central Florida, University of Connecticut, Rutgers University, Temple University, University of Cincinnati, University of Houston, University of Memphis and University of South Florida. Pony up! (Logos via Big East, Edited by SMU Public Affairs)

First up are the women who play on Saturday, Nov. 10. The women will take on Alcorn State at noon in Moody Coliseum. This is the first of seven games in 19 days, six of which are at home, for the women. The Mustangs are lead by head coach Rhonda Rompola who has been the women’s basketball coach since 1991 and earned her 300th career victory on Jan. 13, 2008. Rompola is also an SMU grad herself.

The men start their season on Sunday, Nov. 11. The men will play LMU at 6 p.m. in Moody Coliseum and this is the first of 9 games in 21 days for them. The men are led by new head coach Larry Brown; he is the only coach to win both an NCAA title and an NBA Championship. This season marks the 38th for Coach Brown and the 97th for Mustang basketball.

This is the Mustangs first season in the Big East Conference. Be sure to check out the men’s and women’s full season schedules, and Pony Up!

On this day 520 years ago: Happy Columbus Day! Today, we celebrate the journey of Christopher Columbus and his arrival in America on Oct. 12, 1942. Columbus Day became an official federal state holiday in 1937 and is celebrated on the second Monday of October every year.

Author visit: Friends of SMU Libraries will host a lecture and book signing by author Susan OrleanWednesday, Oct. 10. Orlean is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of seven books, including the best-seller The Orchid Thief and her most recent, Rin Tin Tin, The Life and the Legend. The event will start with a light buffet at 11:30 a.m. in the Mack Ballroom, Umphrey Lee Building. This event is free and open to the public; please RSVP to Cindy Ruppi if you plan to attend.

Moody Tip-Off: To kick off the 2012-13 basketball season and the re-design of Moody Coliseum as part of the University’s centennial celebration, SMU Athletics will host a “Tip-off at Moody” on Wednesday, Oct. 10. The special event starts with a reception at 6 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. tip-off; the night concludes with dinner and events at 7 p.m. The men’s basketball season begins Sunday, Nov. 11 against Loyola Marymount.

Oldovini’s organ: The Meadows School of the Arts and Larry Palmer, professor of harpsichord and organ, have teamed up to bring a special musical opportunity to the SMU community. Palmer will perform monthly demonstrations on Oldovini’s organ in the Meadows Museum. The organ is the only instrument by Pascoal Caetano Oldovini to be found outside the Iberian Peninsula. The first demonstration takes place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11; it is free, open to the public and a unique musical experience not to be missed.

Gallery Talks: The Meadows Museum hosts a Gallery Talk on Friday, October 12, in conjunction with the Diego Velázquez: The Early Court Portraits exhibition. The event will feature perspectives from guest speakers such as Mark Leonard, chief conservator for the Dallas Museum of Art, on the painting techniques used and other insights. The talk takes place at 12:15 p.m. in the Jack and Nancy Hamon Galleries, Meadows Museum. No reservation is required, and the event is free for SMU faculty, staff and students.

SMU Forum wishes the faculty and students a very happy fall break! See you back on Wednesday, October 17, 2012.

The BIG EAST Conference welcomed SMU via an electronic billboard in Times Square Dec.13, 2011.

SMU celebrates its move to the BIG EAST Conference – and its victory in the 2012 BBVA Compass Bowl – with a campuswide gathering at 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19 in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center Commons. The entire campus community is invited to attend.

Athletes and coaches from the Mustang athletic teams will meet with the community, and the BBVA Compass Bowl trophy will be present for viewing.

The University will provide online streaming video coverage for those who cannot attend. Bookmark smu.edu/live to watch the event via your web browser or mobile device. Streaming begins approximately 30 minutes before the event start time.

SMU has accepted an invitation to join the BIG EAST Conference in all sports, President R. Gerald Turner announced Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011. The move fulfills the University’s goal to join a Bowl Championship Series Automatic Qualifier (BCS-AQ) conference, a standard of excellence in college athletics today.

SMU, Houston and the University of Central Florida have accepted full membership into the BIG EAST, while Boise State and San Diego State will compete as members in the sport of football. The BIG EAST Conference Board of Directors, by a unanimous vote of its Presidents, extended the invitations for membership.

SMU, Houston and UCF will begin competing in all BIG EAST‐sponsored sports in the 2013‐14 academic year, while Boise State and San Diego State will start competing in football in the 2013 season.

“Over the last 32 years, the BIG EAST Conference has constantly evolved along with the landscape of college athletics,” said BIG EAST Commissioner John Marinatto. “The inclusion of these five great universities, which bring a unique blend of premier academics, top markets, strong athletics brands and outstanding competitive quality, marks the beginning of a new chapter in that evolution. We are proud to welcome these schools to the BIG EAST family.

“Much like the conference as a whole, the BIG EAST name – though derived 32 years ago based on the geography of our founding members – has evolved into a highly respected brand that transcends borders, boundaries or regions. It’s national. Our membership makeup is now reflective of that.”

The five new schools join Cincinnati, Connecticut, Louisville, Rutgers and USF as the teams competing in football in the BIG EAST Conference. UCF, Houston and SMU join DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Notre Dame, Providence, St. John’s, Seton Hall and Villanova in all other sports.

With the addition of the five new schools, the BIG EAST will have the largest footprint of any college football conference in the nation, with a coast-to‐coast presence spanning eight states in five different regions of the country.

“This is a great day for SMU,” said Director of Athletics Steve Orsini. “This is a move that will impact all aspects of the collegiate experience at SMU. Our move to the BIG EAST will help us increase our exposure and visibility and will raise SMU’s profile on a national level. BIG EAST membership represents SMU’s return to the highest level of collegiate athletics.”